A Good Deed
by MidnightCurls
Summary: Can one particular good deed change the life of everyone's favorite hero, Uzumaki Naruto? Can one act change not only the lives of the Rookie Nine, but also Konoha and possibly the entire Shinobi world? Read to find out. Slight AU, Beta'd by orange'n'lavender.
1. 1 The start of something new

**A/N: Yo! This is my first time writing fan fiction and I would love to know what you guys think about my story. I would love to hear comments and feedback.**

**I hope you enjoy.**

**Midnight Curls. :)**

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"Pssh! Such a weakling!" a boy with long dark hair and violet eyes snorted.

"Yeah! The main house being undefeatable! What a joke!" , said the girl with similar features and equally long dark hair, who was standing next to him and was seemingly his twin.

Both teenagers were looming over a small, whimpering girl, barely seven years of age who was trying desperately to get away from them and was wholly unsuccessful. The girl had shoulder length indigo colored hair, and pupil less violet eyes, along with loose clothes that hung around her with spiral looking crest on the front of her shirt which identified her as a Hyuuga.

Stammering she asked,"A-ano aniki, wh-what're you doing?"

The bullies, branch members of the Hyuuga clan, the renowned Dojutsu using clan of Konoha, one of the five great ninja villages, smirked evilly. "Just teaching you a lesson, snotty little princess! You stuck up main branch members are weak!", replied the girl, raising her hands into an attack position and activating their clans bloodline – the Byakugan.

'What have I done to them? It's not my fault that my father is the clan head and I am clan heir! I feel sorry for the branch members who are treated as servants! But I treat them as family! And yet...' Were the thoughts that ran through the seven year-old's head, and with tears streaming down her face, she squeezed her eyes shut and prepared herself for the pain that was bound to come...

* * *

It was a bright day in Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves, situated in fire country, and considered to be one of the five great ninja villages. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the weather was just perfect. The greenery was in full bloom, and everything seemed to be happy and full of life. Someone however, was not having a great day.

It was in a dead end of some old alley in the poorer part of Konoha. Underneath all the garbage and the filth a small, frail and injured body could be seen.

A groan was heard and the small body suddenly rolled over, wincing in pain. The body belonged to a small boy with blonde hair that looked brown from all the filth, three whisker marks on either cheek and cerulean blue eyes that sometimes outshine the sky. Wincing in pain, once again, he tried to recall how he ended up here.

The events of last night flashed in his head, 'oh yeah, that's right! I ran out of food so i tried to make my way to Ichiraku Ramen, when some drunken shinobi started chasing me, and they were soon joined by some villagers, and they kept hitting me and throwing kunai at me, and then when i was finally able to escape, i ended up here, bleeding and hurt... i must have passed out...' he remembered, his eyes glistening at the thought of the entire village, save a few people, hating him with all their might.

He often wondered why they hated him, he had never hurt them, and he had just pulled a few harmless pranks that didn't hurt anyone, yet the majority of the populace if Konoha despised him. He shook his head, brushing it off, knowing that pondering about it wouldn't give him an answer.

Instead, he gingerly moved his scrawny legs, that looked like they belonged to a five year old, instead of a boy of seven, testing how sore and injured his legs were. He didn't know why but for some reason he always healed at a miraculous rate and that was the only reason why he was alive now, or he would have died years ago from the frequent beatings.

Deciding that he was ready to try to start moving, he shakily got to his feet and ignoring the pain that was coursing through his body at the action, he began to start moving toward the rat infested dump of an apartment he called home.

* * *

"SMACK!" was the sound that Hinata Hyuuga heard. She was surprised to feel no pain. No, she realised, she wasn't the one that had got hit. Quickly, she opened her eyes to see who it was that had taken a hit for her. When she did, she was surprised to find a small scrawny looking boy, who looked no older than her, standing in front of her, trembling with pain where he had gotten hit.

'Who is he? Why did he protect me? Is he okay?' were the thoughts that were running through Hinata's mind. She looked up at the bullies and they too looked surprised at the sudden appearance of this blonde blue-eyed boy. They quickly recovered however.

"Well well, if it isn't the demon brat! It looks like it's our lucky day, doesn't it Shinju" sneered the boy.

"Yes, it sure does, Sato" replied Shinju, "it looks like we get to teach both the demon and the snotty little princess a lesson today. Yes, fate is being kind to us today..."

They both smirked evilly and just then, the blond haired boy shouted " I am not the demon brat! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, you get that? And you better remember it too, because I'm gonna be Hokage one day! And go pick on someone your own size, would you!"

"Hahaha! What a joke!" laughed Shinji.

"You -Hokage! That'll be the day!" agreed Sato.

Naruto just glared at them and was about to say something when Sato raised his fist, and smirked evilly and said, "Now, where were we, hmmm"

Shinji got into attack position and activated her Byakugan, smirked and said, "I think just about here"

They were just about to attack when a voice was heard, "Sato, Shinji where are you? Sensei is calling us and we have to get to training ground 7 before seven or we're dead meat!"

"Saved today it seems demon, princess. Next time, though, we'll have a good time" said Sato and both of them turned to leave.

As soon as they left , Naruto turned away and started walking away.

"Wh-where are you going" stuttered Hinata. Naruto turned around, looking surprised that she had bothered to talk to him. He turned to look at her and she stammered out, "Tha-thank you for standing up for me"

Still looking mildly surprised , he replied "You're welcome, 'ttebayo!"

Hinata held out her shaking hand and said, "My name is Hi-hinata, What's yours?"

"Its Naruto" he replied, with a genuine smile on his face, due to the fact that she had bothered to ask him what his name was.

"D-do you want to be friends?" asked Hinata.

Little did they know, those six fated words would change both their lives irrevocably. Those six words were destined to change not only their own future but also that of Konoha and possibly, the entire world.

Looking surprised and shocked, yet ecstatic, Naruto looked at Hinata with the beginnings of a true smile- one that reached his eyes- not the fake one he put on for the world, but the one he gave to the people that made him truly happy- the one only few people in Konoha had the privilege of seeing.

In a behavior very unlike him, he softly replied, almost like he was unsure of the reality of the moment and speaking loudly would break the moment, he whispered, "I-I would like that... a lot..."

Hinata answered with a shy smile, hesitantly but surely, they walked out of the alley, side by side, in an almost comfortable silence, in the direction of the main city, with the sun shining above their heads and hope welling in their hearts. Deep down, they both knew, this was the start of something new and wonderful...

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**A/N: ****Please Review. *Puppy Dog eyes***

** Next time: "Promise to be my friend forever?"**


	2. 2 Family

**Yo again!**

**Here is the next chapter of A Good Deed.**

**As always, I value any feedback or comment you guys may have so please review.**

**Hope you enjoy,**

**Midnight Curls. :)**

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**CHAPTER 2**

Light poured through a window in a small, rickety but surprisingly clean apartment. A small shape groaned and shifted as the light hit his face. Groaning again, he turned and opened his eyes. Half lidded cerulean blue eyes stared at the dirty ceiling. Blinking sleepily, trying to get himself awake, Uzumaki Naruto shook himself and straightened up.

He smiled softly and remembered the events of the previous day, 'It started off pretty miserable, I woke up in an alley in the middle of nowhere, bruised and beaten up, in the middle of a garbage dump', he thought with a clouded expression on his face.

'But then it got a whole lot better', he thought, the soft smile returning to his face, 'it was for a good cause after all, I got in the way of some older kids who were going to hit a girl who looked my age, with the prettiest eyes I've ever seen, then the most wonderful thing happened, Hinata-Chan asked if we wanted to be friends- with me! The demon brat whom the majority of Konoha hates and only the Hokage and Ichiraku storekeepers like! It's the best thing that has happened to me for a while!'

'Oh that's right! Hinata- Chan said she'll meet me today around two o' clock... hmm... I wonder what I should do till then...'

* * *

Hinata Hyuuga was lying collapsed on her back in one of the Hyuuga training grounds after an intense training session with Kunai. 'Father came to watch me again and as usual, he was disappointed in me again. He said that I was weak- a disgrace to the Hyuuga name' she thought, her eyes brimming with tears.

'No matter how hard I work, I can never match Father's expectations; no matter how hard I train, my aim is still too off; no matter how much I practice, my stance is never perfect; no matter how much I try, my Byakugan is too weak...' she thought in despair, almost on the verge of sobbing now, and feeling drained, she suddenly remembered, 'oh yes! I told Naruto-kun that I would meet him today!'

'He's so nice, and so brave! I'm so glad he agreed to be friends with me- the weak and timid girl no one wants to be seen with- and he looked so happy too, that smile he gave me – it was so beautiful- his sky blue eyes practically shone with happiness- I don't think anyone has ever been so happy to be my friend...' she thought, feeling a little better.

'Oh well, I better get up if I want to meet him on time' she groaned and pulled her exhausted body up to go change and then walk to the park if I want to meet him on time. Just as she pulled herself to her feet, she heard her voice that haunted her every nightmare- the cold and hard voice of her father.

A snooty and refined voice said," Hinata, get up. You will spar with your cousin Neji, now." With fright in her eyes, lest her father hit her again, she bowed low and managed to stutter out, "Y-Yes Fa-Father". Meanwhile, she thought, 'Oh no! I am exhausted and even at full strength, I'm no match for Neji, and right now, I can barely stand, let alone use chakra, and Neji is a prodigy after all, and not just an ordinary prodigy, a prodigy rumoured to be the strongest Hyuuga born in generations, not to mention, an year older than me and a genius at the Jyuuken- the Hyuuga fighting style, while I still struggle with the basics- yet, Father was making her spar against him, knowing that she would lose. Why would he...' were her thoughts when they were interrupted.

"Are you just going to stand there and waste my time?" a cold voice asked which belonged to Hiashi Hyuuga the head of the Hyuuga clan and Hinata's father.

"N-no Father, c-coming" she replied.

With herculean effort, she managed to walk behind her father without collapsing and they walked in the direction of the training grounds. As she did so, with a heavy heart, she thought 'This is not going to end well, I'm sure of it..."

* * *

"Begin!" called Hiashi Hyuuga.

A dark haired youth with a long dark mane of hair, tied at the end stood across Hinata at the training grounds. When Hiashi called out, they both bowed, him curtly, and Hinata shakily as she was exhausted. They both straightened and immediately, Neji darted forward, Byakugan active and ready to strike.

By some miracle, Hinata managed to activate her Byakugan and barely avoided his attack though it scraped her shoulder. Her sloppy dodge however, left her back open and Neji grabbed the opportunity. He used Jyuuken to attack from behind and as soon as he finished attacking, Hinata crumbled to the ground, defeated.

Neji smirked and began to walk away. Bowing, he said, "Hiashi-Sama is there anything else you need me for?" and after hearing a curt reply of dismissal, he left the training grounds.

Hiashi Hyuuga meanwhile stared in disgust at his own flesh and blood as she got back on her feet. "You are a weakling!" he spat, in a voice laden with venom. Trembling, Hinata held back the tears as Hiashi looked at her as she was some sort of abomination.

"I no longer recognize you as my daughter, and I don't want to have anything to do with you. You have disappointed me far too many times, the main branch is supposed to be strong, and you are the heir, yet you are weak and show no talent for the Jyuuken. You are no longer clan heir as Hanabi will take your place. When the time comes, you will be branded and but in the branch. Now, Be gone from my sight and don't show me your face unless necessary." Hiashi Hyuuga spat out.

Fuelled by grief, tears streaming down her face freely by now, Hinata ran. She blindly ran away because she could not bear to stay there anymore where everyone looked down on her, where she was alone, where no one liked her, and where the memories haunted her. Subconsciously, as she was in no state to think, she ran to the park, where she had promised to meet Naruto and although she was almost forty minutes late, she hoped that he would be there, that he would care enough to wait.

Passing people who looked at her curiously, she finally reached the park and saw a dejected figure sitting on the swing, alone and thanked whatever god had listened to her prayers.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto had spent the day reading some manga, playing a prank on the neighbour's cat, all while eagerly awaiting the agreed time to meet his new friend, Hinata. He was so excited! 'This is going to be so much fun! It feels so nice to have a friend!' were the thought that were running through his head as he lay on his bed, waiting, as he had nothing better to do.

Fifteen minutes before they were supposed to meet, he jumped up, locked up his rackety apartment, muttered a quick prayer that his apartment wouldn't get ransacked today and ran off toward the park.

He got there five minutes early and was in a good mood despite the numerous glares he received as he walked into the park. He eagerly looked around and stood near a corner of the park as if he went any closer, some people might throw things at him.

The children gradually thinned out and finally, he was alone in the park, as dusk set in. Nearly thirty minutes later, she had still not arrived and he went to sit on the swing, dejected. He tried not to cry, because not so long ago, he had made up his mind never to cry, no matter what. He repeated, 'I will not cry, it doesn't help' in his head like a mantra and with cerulean eyes shimmering with unshed tears, he got up to go back home, convinced it was a trick that the girl had played on him because she, just like everyone else, hated him.

Just as he got up, he saw Hinata, bruised and injured, tears streaming down her face frantically running towards him. "Wha- "he began when Hinata glomped him and broke down into sobs. Not knowing what else to do, he wrapped his arms around her and comforted her, convinced that she was sincere in her friendship and that something awful had happened. They stood there for a long time, Hinata sobbing and Naruto comforting her.

Finally, after about an hour, Hinata's tears had dried up and she had finally calmed down. They had ended up sitting on the grass, Hinata in Naruto's lap, and she sniffled softly.

Gently, Naruto whispered, "Hinata-Chan, what happened?" And Hinata looked into his caring soft blue eyes and told him everything. "I-I was training..." she began and found herself telling him everything, from the beginning, how her family treated her, her fears, the death of her mother, the incident with her father- everything, somehow knowing that he wouldn't judge her.

Occasionally crying and giving soft smiles at the happy memories, as she confessed everything, Hinata found understanding in those cerulean eyes. When she confessed everything, she asked Naruto how he knew about loneliness and pain, and looking into her violet eyes that mirrored his own concern for her, Naruto too began to confess his feelings- about the villagers, how everyone hated him, how hard his life was and together they cried for each other, comforted each other and found the other to be a kindred spirit, having endured the same kind of suffering.

It was about ten when they both finally calmed down having shared their sorrows and feeling their hearts lighter than before. The lay staring at the full moon in comfortable silence when Naruto propped himself up on his elbows and looking at Hinata, asked, "Hina-chan, promise to be my friend forever?"

Without hesitation, violet eyes sparkling with determination, she replied, "Yes Naru-kun, forever."

Smiling softly, Naruto whispered, "Then we're family, we'll always be there for each other, no matter what."

"Yes, always..." Hinata agreed.

And with that solemn promise made with the moon as witness, both children fell asleep, snuggled next to each other in the cool night air, knowing that no matter what, they'd always have each other...

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**A/N: Aaand, that's a cut!**

** Next time on A Good Deed- We'll get stronger together.**

**Please review! Pretty please with *insert favorite topping here* on top? **


	3. 3 I promise

**A/N: Here is chapter 3. **

**As always reviews and comments are always welcome.**

**Midnight Curls. :)**

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**Chapter 3**

'Mmm... Warm' was the first thing that Uzumaki Naruto thought as he sleepily opened his eyes to find himself looking at the pale early morning blue sky instead of the off white dingy ceiling he was used to. He found himself snuggled next to Hinata, who was still asleep, looking angelic and free from worry in her slumber. Smiling softly, Naruto brushed back a strand of her hair and carefully pulled away from her, propped himself up on his elbows and pulled himself into a sitting position

'We're family now, we'll protect and stand up for each other no matter what', that was the solemn promise they had made to each other and he had every intention of keeping it. 'I won't break my promise' he thought to himself. As Naruto was pondering over this Hinata had woken up, and smiling softly, quietly said, "Good M-Morning Naru-kun, thanks for waiting for me yesterday".

"No problem, Hina-chan, we're family remember" he replied, smiling back. "Yes, we certainly are" came the reply. After a while they both got up and after a promise to meet again, to discuss how they were going to train, they both went their separate ways, Hinata to a loveless house, and Naruto to a rackety old apartment, heads held high and ready to face the challenges that lay ahead.

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'I have to get stronger, to protect those I love, so that Hina-chan will never cry again like that again' thought Naruto as he walked towards his apartment. 'I need to train, but what to do? How do I train? I know! Hokage oji-san will know! I'll go visit him and he'll surely know what to do!', and with this thought, Naruto changed the path he was taking, walking instead towards the Hokage tower, ignoring the venomous glares he got, lost in thoughts of training and his newfound family.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen had seen many things in his life, strange, wondrous, awe-inspiring; after all being the Hokage, the strongest ninja in a Great Ninja Village for more than 50 years had to count for something, right? Being a Shinobi in itself was a defiance of the basic laws of science. Yet, as he gazed at the sight before him, he found himself feeling surprised.

So what was this, you might wonder? Time travel? Hyuugas wearing spandex and shouting about youth? Naras being energetic? Don't worry, it was nothing so bizarre. The Sandaime Hokage was currently sitting on a stool next to Uzumaki Naruto, at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, treating him to Ramen, and not only was he uncharacteristically quiet, he had barely eaten half of his first bowl, and was currently sitting on the stool just staring at his ramen, lost in thought.

'He came to my office, convinced me to treat him to ramen, and now he is acting like something is troubling him. Is it the villagers? Did something happen again? Well only one way to find out but... I'm not sure I even want to know... how many hardships will he have to endure for the villagers to realise he is a just a seven year old boy and nothing else?' thought the old Hokage and hesitantly asked, "Naruto, is everything okay? Do you want to talk about something? You can always talk to me, you know"

"Actually jiji, I..." began Naruto and proceeded to tell him everything that had happened to him in the last few days, "and we need your help getting stronger so that we can look out for each other" he finished.

Smiling grandfatherly, the Hokage proceeded to tell him that soon, they would both enrol in the academy where they would learn to be a ninja and get stronger so they could protect each other. "You should train your body with daily exercises and the academy teaches a style of taijutsu but you could choose your own style from the library. Remember to practice it every day and listen to what the academy teachers say and you'll be fine." Said the Hokage as Naruto looked at him happily, ecstatic that the Hokage believed in him, "The most important thing is to always remember the reason for your strength- the wish to protect something precious" finished Sarutobi, looking at Naruto as a determined look took shape on his face.

"It's a promise Ji-chan! And I never break my promises!" Naruto said with conviction and after doing so, went back to attacking his ramen, slurping and enjoying it, soon calling out for more.

'Thank god, something good is happening to him, finally. The Will of Fire is strong in Naruto and the younger generation and hopefully, people will come to realise this soon. Perhaps the future doesn't look so glum after all'

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata sighed contently; she was currently sitting in her sanctuary, a tiny clearing in the woods near the Hyuuga estate, and the one place where she felt completely at home, a place where she could almost feel her mother's presence, where she felt safe, secure and happy. This bright and happy spot is the only place that belonged completely to her. It brought back all the happy memories of her mother- her scent, the way she called her name, her presence- everything as this used to be her mother's sanctuary before it became hers. She was even named after this place as her name meant 'A Sunny Place'.

In her mind, she went over the events of the last few days, how her strongest bond was with a boy she had only met days earlier, yet it felt like she had known him forever. 'Aah!' mentally sighed. It wasn't that her problems had disappeared or that her father would be nice to her or she had gotten any stronger, 'But, at least I have someone to stand beside me and help me. Naru-kun and I swore that we would be each other's family, we would get stronger together, and that he would help me with my problems with the clan.'

'What kind of horrible people beat up a small child' she thought, thinking of Naruto. 'Why would anyone hate him? He's so nice and caring and incapable of doing anything bad, yet people have done unthinkable things to him. He told me everything that night...

* * *

-Flashback, Hinata's POV-

"... and that's everything that happened" I finished. Naru-kun and I were sitting on the grass, in the park, huddled together, and I had just finished telling him everything that had happened. There was an angry look on his face and I felt his entire body tensing

"Those fools!" he ground out. "How dare they do such a thing! Why would they? Aren't they your family? Cant they see that you're doing your best, they don't deserve you!" he spat out. Looking down, he say my shoulders shaking again, my expression miserable, he decided that he could be angry later and started comforting me.

"Hina-chan", he said softly. "Everything is going to be okay, I promise" he continued comfortingly, a caring look in his eyes, holding me until I had cried myself out. And, I believed him.

Eventually, my tears had dried and I had lost track of time, yet I was happier than I had ever been, I had found someone who cared for me, someone I could rely upon. Suddenly, a thought popped into my head. That day, when Naru-kun had saved me from Sato and Shinji, he was all beaten up, why is that? Who would do such a thing?

"A-ano, tha-at day," I began, and, stuttering, asked him the reason for his injury. When I did, he got a clouded and desolate look in those beautiful cerulean eyes and he hesitated, looking away.

"You can tell me", I urged, "We are friends after all." He looked at me, still undecided, blue eyes showing his internal struggle. "Well, I was beaten up because the night before I had run out of food", he started, his voice shaky. He told me up about the beatings, how he was mistreated in the orphanage, how he was kicked out at age four, how on his birthday, he almost gets killed every year, the misery, the pain, the hate, and above all the feeling of loneliness. Together, we cried, I cried for him and what he had to go through, eventually we ran out of tears and fell asleep.

-End Flashback-

* * *

'Never again.' Thought Hinata, determined that she would do everything she could to protect her family, her only real family, from getting hurt. 'Naru-kun will never feel lonely or be hurt as long as I'm here. I will get stronger, so I can protect him. No matter how hard it is, I will do it! I will prove my father wrong and protect Naru-kun! I promise mother, I'll make you proud!'

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**A/N: Thats all folks. :)**

**Next time on A Good Deed- Training begins**


	4. 4 Training and Superglue

**A/N: Hey! Sorry for taking so long! Was busy with exams and then had some writers block!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**-Midnight Curls. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

A kunai whizzed through the air, aimed at a tree. It hit the tree, but just barely, scraping the tree and falling to the ground. "Hina-chan, did you see that? It hit the tree this time!" shouted Uzumaki Naruto, jumping with joy, and unable to contain his excitement. Hinata Hyuuga looked up from her own training post, to smile softly at him and say, "Yes, Naru-kun I saw" she said, "Y-you're getting better."

He smiled again, turned back and started practising again. The two children were working on their aim with kunai, in their quest to get stronger. Naruto was a novice, while Hinata had had some training before. Consequently, her aim was much better.

'Knees bent, shoulders relaxed and eyes on the target' she thought, aiming at the centre of the circle drawn on the tree. She threw the kunai and it flew to the target, hitting inside the circle, but not at the centre. 'I can't do anything right! Maybe father was right!' she thought when she heard an awe filled voice "Wow! Hina-chan, you're amazing, I could never do that!" 'No! I can't think like that! I won't! I'll just get better'. Smiling, she went back to work.

The two children practised all morning, Hinata correcting Naruto's stance and teaching him the correct way to throw. They kept at it all morning, training in the woods near the Nara estate.

* * *

At twelve, they took a break. Lying on the grass under the shade of the tree, Hinata said," Naru-kun, kunai are not enough, you have to learn taijutsu too."

Bewildered, Naruto asked, "Taiju- what? What is that?"

"Tai-jutsu" she enunciated slowly, "it is the ninja form of fighting. We train our bodies, and use them as weapons. Every good ninja has to have a decent level of taijutsu, or they are in danger. It is a vital element to any ninjas training" she explained.

"Oh! Alright, I think I get it 'ttebayo! So, how do we begin?" he asked.

Smiling, she explained again, "taijutsu is a generic name for all fighting styles. There are many different styles and each one is different. Each style of taijutsu has its own 'katas' which are the basic forms of the taijutsu. It is a collection of stances that help you familiarise yourself with the style and it teaches you how the style moves from one attack position to the next. There are also defence katas that teach you how to block or how to move when an enemy attacks you" she said. Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgement and she continued "As, you know, in Konoha we have different clans, and each clan has its own signature style of taijutsu, that complements its abilities. The Hyuugas for example, have the Jyuuken that is passed down from generation to generation, and assists our eyes, the Byakugan"

"Bya-what?" Naruto asked his face clearly showing his confusion.

"The Byakugan is a special ability of our clan; it is a Dojutsu, an eye ability. We channel chakra to our eyes to activate it. It gives us 360 degree vision and the ability to see through objects."

"So you have X-Ray vision?"

"Kind of, yes. Now, as I was sayin-""That is so cool! So wicked! You are so cool, Hina-chan!" Naruto interrupted, screaming excitedly, practically hyperventilating. He jumped about and mock bowed to her while she giggled quietly at his antics.

Once he had finally settled down, he asked, "Hina, did you notice that you never stuttered, when you were explaining to me?" "No, no I didn't." She said, smiling determinedly. "Now, as I was saying, because of the special abilities of each clan, they have their own signature taijutsu. Since you don't belong to a clan, you don't." Seeing his disappointed look, she quickly continued "but, we could always find you a style, we could do it." She said, relieved to see his expression lightening.

"Now! The break is over and it's time to get back to work!"

"Yes ma'am!" Naruto said, saluting as he did so, grinning foxily. They both got up and went back to the trees that they used as training logs, starting to throw their wooden kunai again, occasionally laughing and talking, training hard.

At about four in the evening, they decided to call it a day. They were both exhausted and dragging their tired bodies to their respective homes, seemed herculean. Nevertheless, they both staggered in the needed directions, Hinata towards the wealthier, respectable part of Konoha, and Naruto towards the dilapidated, shady and dirty part of town, with tired, short, but sincere goodbyes, with a promise to meet again tomorrow.

* * *

-TIMESKIP-

For the next two weeks, they both trained just as hard, six to seven hours a day, and they both grew considerably. Naruto could now hit the circle every time, and Hinata could hit the centre nine times out of ten. They were both on their journey to become stronger.

Naruto had stopped saying his phrase 'Dattebayo!' after each sentence when Hinata mentioned that it was a little weird. He still used it, but not all the time. Hinata however changed more. She began to come out of her shell, and now had stopped stuttering in front of Naruto as a result of long exposure to his infectious enthusiasm. Things had changed for her. The Hyuuga no longer cared for her, she was practically disowned, her father, Hiashi Hyuuga had started training Hanabi, her sister, though she was practically still a baby. They no longer cared when she left, what time she got home, where she went, and who she spent her time with. Her father had seen her one time, with Naruto and she feared he would do something. However, the result was not what she expected. He had just sneered, turned his nose up at them and walked away, not bothering to look back.

She thought that he probably didn't care for her, and didn't even regard her as a Hyuuga, as he would never have allowed a true Hyuuga to be around Naruto. She also found herself being less and less affected by this. Naruto truly was becoming her only family, in spirit, though not in blood and the Hyuuga's opinions didn't matter so much anymore.

'Sure, they are still related to me by blood and I hope to someday unite them again, as a true family, but right now, I will cherish my true family and hope they can become my family once again' she thought.

In a span of these two weeks, Naruto and Hinata had become the best of friend, they were inseparable. They trained together, ate together and were practically joined at the hip. They were beginning to truly learn one another. Naruto found out about Hinata's love for cinnamon buns, the incidents involving her mother and Kumo shinobi and her dream to unite her clan into a true family, which he swore to help her achieve.

Hinata, meanwhile learnt about Naruto's harsh past, his love for the colour orange and ramen, especially Ichiraku Ramen, his dream to be acknowledged and accepted- to become Hokage, and the few people in his life that were good to him- the old Hokage, the Ramen stand owner, and the stand owner's daughter.

* * *

-Normal POV-

Naruto's internal clock woke him at the same time that it always did, seven thirty in the morning. As long as he could remember, he had never needed an alarm clock as his body would always wake him up at the same time. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, swung his legs over the side of his rackety bed, and walked to the bathroom to shower, daydreaming about instant ramen for breakfast.

Hinata meanwhile, had been up for a while, as her alarm clock woke her up at seven each morning. She started her morning as usual- shower, change, brush her hair, go outside to practise her Jyuuken. Her father used to come and watch her before but now couldn't care less, yet she relentlessly practised, as she would if he was there.

She went through her katas, and as she was working on a particular stance, a thought popped into her head, 'The Jyuuken is so stiff, unmoving and rigid. It doesn't suit me... what if I' Clang! A bell rang loudly and was heard throughout and interrupted her thoughts. It was the bell signalling the common breakfast that they held once a week that every Hyuuga who was present was expected to attend. A long table filled with cold glares, disgusted and disappointed expressions, and an oppressive silence as she ate. 'Perfect!' she thought sarcastically as she sighed.

* * *

Cerulean eyes closed in bliss, 'Nothing like instant cup ramen to start a day' thought Naruto. After his shower, he had made himself two cups of instant ramen, and wolfed them down as soon as they were ready, and was currently basking in the afterglow of eating a healthy (read- unhealthy) amount of his favourite food.

He finally got up after a few minutes, cleared up the traces of his breakfast, and glanced at the clock. 'Nine already, huh?' he thought, walking out of his apartment, locking it and heading in the direction of their training spot, as it really couldn't be called a ground, humming a tune and smiling genuinely in anticipation of meeting Hinata again.

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata was walking towards their training area, in a relatively good mood despite her unpleasant morning due to the stifling breakfast. She was greeted with the sight of Naruto practising kunai throwing. He was wearing his usual baggy orange jumpsuit, bit his jacket was lying near a tree, and he was training in his black t-shirt and orange bottoms. Softly, she called out, "Good morning Naru-kun. Someone's here early."

Turning around he saw her in her usual baggy dark lavender jacket with black pants, and replied, though louder than her, eyes lighting up which made Hinata's stomach tie itself into knots, "Good Morning, Hina-chan! Had nothing else to do, so figured might as well."

Nodding in understanding, she too took off her bulky jacket to reveal a blue t-shirt underneath. At first, she had been very conscious about removing her jacket in front of Naruto, even in extreme heat, but after Naruto's constant reassurance and reminders of being family, she overcame her insecurities.

She blushed dark as she remembered his reaction when she had first seen her. 'He stared at me and went pink and the word "Beautiful!' slipped out of his mouth before he clamped his hands on his mouth, laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, and went back to training muttering about traitorous mouths.'

Shaking her head to dismiss the thought, she stretched, to warm up her body, and started training with the wooden kunai. After about an hour, she called a break and Naruto jogged up to her, t-shirt damp with sweat from his training. Motioning or him to come and sit down with her under the shade of the tree, she sat comfortably on the grass, sitting opposite her.

"Naru-kun, do you remember how we talked about taijutsu a few weeks back?" "Yeah, you told me about the Byakugan, Jyuuken and clan taijutsu then. Why?" came the reply. She responded, "I think it's time we found you a taijutsu style!" she said, excitement lacing her voice. "The expected shout of joy and excitement almost deafened her, as he jumped about the clearing, whooping with joy. Hinata just leant back and enjoyed the shade, as she had learnt that trying to calm Naruto down was practically impossible, and a waste of effort, instead, smiling tolerantly and knowingly and rolling her eyes slightly at his antics."

Mid whoop, a thought suddenly occurred and he turned to look at Hinata and asked, "But, who's gonna teach me?" Smiling, she smiled almost evilly at him. Naruto, on seeing this almost went into shock, but slowly returned it with a foxy grin if his own. As she leaned and started to whisper in his ear, his eyes became bigger and bigger and his grin widened. Who knew Hinata- sweet, gentle Hinata could be so devious. When she finished, Naruto looked up at her with newfound respect while she giggled mischievously.

Grin still intact, Naruto replied, "Hina-chan? Who knew you could be so... resourceful?" returning her mischievous look with one of his own, after all, he was not known as one of the best (or worst, depending on how you looked at it) pranksters Konoha had ever seen for nothing. The soon to be partners-in-crime continued training for a while longer before they sat down under the same tree, and began to discuss their plan as the sun descended lower and lower on the horizon.

* * *

Yuuhi Kurenai, chuunin if Konoha was bored out of her mind. She was currently sitting at the main desk of Konoha library at two in the afternoon on a Tuesday, the possibility of someone actually coming in was practically non-existent, and she was filling in for the usual librarian who was on holiday. She sighed for the umpteenth time that day. She was currently completing the D-rank mission assigned to her as punishment.

'And it wasn't even my fault!' she thought crossly, 'it's not my fault my baka teammates decided to get into a fight, again. I had nothing to do with it; I shouldn't be the one to get punished. Stupid sensei!' she thought, huffing. She was just thinking about how she hoped that her baka teammates' mission was even boring when she suddenly heard a scream. It sounded like a small girl. Jumping out of her seat, she ran towards the door, thinking, 'Yes! I can finally get out of that dreaded chair!'

Running out of the door, she heard another scream, coming from the alley that was opposite the alley. She immediately headed in the direction, and entered the alley, running as fast as she could. She reached the end of the alley, finding absolutely nothing. All there was a garbage can. Pausing, she wondered if this was some enemy's trick and when she tried to move into a defensive stance, ready to fight, she found that she couldn't move. Looking down, she saw that something that looked like superglue had been smeared all over the ground and realised that she had been pranked. She screamed out in anger and frustration, seemingly ready to kill the person behind the prank, and tried to detangle herself from the mess.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto was waiting near the entrance of the library, waiting for the librarian to fall for the diversion Hinata had set up. As soon as he saw a pretty young girl with brown hair and red eyes run out of the library, he masterfully snuck into the library, sighing in relief when he saw that it was empty. He looked around for the shinobi section and found it fairly quickly.

His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he looked for the books Hinata had asked him to 'borrow'. Finding them, he groaned as they were on the top shelf, where they couldn't reach. Looking around and finding nothing he could climb up on, he deftly grabbed the side of the rack, climbing carefully. He reached high enough to grab the books, jumped down and started making his way out of the library while thinking, 'Running from the mobs came in useful after all...'

By the time Kurenai got back, Naruto was long gone, and Hinata, too had escaped from her hiding place in the garbage can. Seeing nothing immediately out of place she sat back in the chair, banging her head against the table, muttering curses.

* * *

**A/N: Phew! That is the longest chapter I have ever written. * wipes sweat from forehead ***

**Liked it? Hated it? Please review and tell me what you think. Reviews are love!**

**-Midnight Curls. :)**


	5. 5 Of Taijutsu and Sunsets

**A/N: Here is the fifth chapter. Some NaruHina fluff, and the plot moves forward a bit. Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

It was the day after the library escapade. It was about 11'o'clock in the morning. Uzumaki Naruto and Hinata Hyuuga sat under what they had dubbed- 'the Tree'. It was an old shady tree located near their training grounds, which was a small clearing in the forest which was situated near the Nara estate.

They had successfully finished their first (unofficial) mission, yesterday. Naruto's eyes were shining in excitement as they sat along with three books they had 'borrowed' from the library. Hinata smiled as well, her plan had worked out perfectly. "Can I start reading them, now?" came a whine to which a soft, exasperated voice replied, "Fine, Naru-kun." Hinata sighed as Naruto flipped through the books like there was no tomorrow, trying to find out the taijutsu style he would be attempting to learn. 'He's like a small child with a new toy' she thought.

"Yōshin-ryū, huh?" Naruto declared. Hinata nodded. "It says here that Yōshin-ryū or 'The School of the Willow Heart' is a taijutsu style that was founded by Akiyama Yoshitoki and developed by the samurai into a deadly fighting style. It later fell out of use when the samurai moved onto more modern fighting styles, but Yōshin-ryū remains an effective style, despite its decline. It focuses on speed and agility, along with deadly punches, kicks and open palmed strikes to the most vulnerable parts of the opponent's body." He read aloud, from the book. "Whoa! That sounds kinda cool, actually. How did you find it, anyway?"

"Well, you see, when I was a small child, before Hanabi was born, my mother used to read me stories. It was my favourite way to drift off to sleep, with the sound of my mother's voice. My favourite story was one of a samurai and a brave princess who fought together and saved the kingdom from the clutches of the evil queen who was the step mother of the princess. My mother was a shinobi too, and she was very knowledgeable too." She said.

"One day, out of childish curiosity," she continued, "I asked her how the samurai had fought so many people at once and won. She replied that he had a very special fighting style, called Yōshin-ryū. When I was thinking what taijutsu you could learn, I remembered this and realised that it was perfect because you could learn it from the books in the library and since it was out of use, it would be unpredictable" Hinata finished, softy but confidently.

Naruto really was doing her a lot of good. She was still shy, blushed and stuttered around everyone else but around Naruto, she was confident and assured because of their strong connection. Her confidence also increased with his constant praises, encouragement and belief in her abilities. She had altogether stopped stuttering in front of him and her general level of nervousness had reduced too.

He nodded his head in understanding, and smiled. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with mischief and putting the books in his small half-torn bag, he stood, and bowed gallantly. Then, with a put on exaggerated accent, he asked "Will you, brave princess, allow me, the humble samurai to treat you to a bowl of ramen?" Deciding to play along, Hinata bowed regally, saying, "Yes, I shall" and they both walked in the direction of Ichiraku Ramen Shop, talking and laughing at their own silliness.

* * *

- TIME SKIP –

It had been a month since Naruto had first been introduced to Yōshin-ryū and since then, he had been training to learn the katas and master the taijutsu. In the first week, he had managed to read the book on basic introduction and theory of the taijutsu with Hinata's help despite his poor reading abilities. He was never properly taught to read so it took a while for him to grasp the book. She explained the difficult parts to him and helped to improve his reading.

He had practised the katas that were described in the second book, which was a beginner's guide to learning Yōshin-ryū. The first katas were not too hard, they were basic stances to centre the body weight and allow optimum range of movement. He continued to work on the taijutsu, asking Hinata to check for its correctness and reading the book again and again to make sure he was doing it right. He had, by now mastered the basic katas and was moving onto the more advanced ones.

Meanwhile, Hinata practised her Jyuuken obsessively, but found that it just didn't suit her. No matter what she did, she found that she could not feel comfortable and natural with the stiff stances that relied on strength and rigidity. A passing comment from Naruto set her thinking in a different direction though.

* * *

-FLASHBACK-

Uzumaki Naruto was flopped under 'the Tree' feeling boneless and utterly exhausted. He had been practising the Yōshin-ryū stances for almost two hours now and he had expended all his energy into practise and was now content to sit under their shady tree and watch Hinata practise. She was working on her Jyuuken stances. 'It's so stiff and unmoving. So unlike Hinata...' he thought.

Feeling the need to share this thought, he called out, "Oi! Hina-chan, the Jyuuken doesn't suit you! It's too stiff!" Her concentration broke at that point and she stopped to think about it, feeling a little sad that Naruto thought that the Jyuuken wasn't for her. 'But, wait, he said that the Jyuuken wasn't right for me, not that I couldn't do it. But, the Jyuuken does have its base in strength and rigidity. Maybe, that's what makes it wrong for me!' she realised. 'Maybe, I need to find a style that requires flexibility and movement. But wait! I'm a Hyuuga, and we are specialised for the Jyuuken, I can't possibly learn another style, it's practically blasphemous.' She thought, her mood worsening.

She was going to go back to practising her Jyuuken when another thought struck her, 'But, there's no rule against modifying the Jyuuken, I could do that! I could make it my own by making it more flexible and I could use that to become stronger!' she thought excited, practically jumping with joy at the thought. She turned around, and shouted, "Naruto! I ha-" when she realised that he was happily snoring under the tree, exhausted from training, oblivious to his surroundings. She sighed exasperatedly, but then smiled; nothing could pull her down right now...

- END FLASHBACK-

* * *

With this revelation, she started stretching more, to improve her flexibility. She and Naruto did these exercises together, because flexibility would help his taijutsu too, but she was naturally way more flexible than she was. She started trying to make the Jyuuken more flexible by replacing the stiff and uncomfortable taijutsu stances with stances that were similar, but felt more comfortable to her. It was a long and frustrating process, and often, during the course of the month, she felt as if she was making no progress at all. But still, she was determined to see it through, in order to become stronger, so she could protect her family and keep her promise of making her mother proud of her. All in all, it was a productive month as they both made progress with their chosen methods to learn taijutsu, continuing on their journey to be stronger.

Hinata Hyuuga was currently in the Jyuuken's basic defensive stance. She had finished tweaking the basic attack position, working relentlessly for the past month to do so. The stance was still not perfect, but it was getting close. She had tweaked it in different ways for the past month, testing it out each time, finding the flaws and trying to fix them so that she could fight properly in it. She had now decided to modify the basic defensive stance.

'Rigidity is my major problem, so what if I relaxed my left arm a little?' she thought, and trying it. 'Okay, that's a little but better, but I think that the position of my feet needs a little work. Maybe if I changed the angle so that I could twist and jump more easily from an enemy's attack, it would be better' she thought, trying different angles and jumping and twisting from invisible attacks to help test her theory. Her newfound flexibility was being used to its fullest extent, trying to make the Jyuuken her own.

* * *

Meanwhile, nearby, Uzumaki Naruto was also hard at work. He was currently working on the more advanced katas of Yōshin-ryū. Learning from a book was harder than he thought it would be, and he had Hinata to thank for helping him get till the advanced katas itself. He had not fought with the taijutsu but practised it relentlessly, trying to master it.

He went through the stances repeatedly, mentally checking over the position of his limbs and correcting the position of each stance. 'My legs are too far apart' he thought, correcting it, and continued to repeat this process for the katas he had learnt.

They were both so engrossed in their own worlds trying to learn their respective taijutsus, that neither noticed a pair of sharp brown eyes watching them. These eyes saw everything, how hard they worked, how they acted like they were joint at the hip after practice, and the sheer determination in both cerulean and lilac eyes. After a while, these eyes left, and a faint mutter of 'Troublesome...' could be heard. Soon after, both Hinata and Naruto called it a day, said their reluctant goodbyes and returned to their homes.

* * *

It was the evening of the next day. They had both finished practising and were sitting under the tree in tired, but comfortable silence. "We'll be joining the academy in about two weeks." Hinata spoke softly, breaking the silence. "Yeah..." replied Naruto uncharacteristically quiet. Sensing something was wrong, she asked, "Is something wrong, Naru-kun?" For a brief moment, there was silence, and then he replied softly, "I'm just afraid that everyone in the academy will hate me too. I just couldn't bear if they hated you because of me. You don't have to be my friend if you don't want me to, don't worry about the promise."

"Idiot!" she almost shouted, "That's what you're worried about? Why would they hate you? You're kind, nice, and an amazing friend! And even if some idiots do hate you, you'll always have me! You think that I would abandon my sworn family just because some idiots don't like you!" she continued, angry and indignant, practically radiating rage. She was standing, ready to hit something in an uncharacteristic rage, and ignoring Naruto's stupefied expression.

As Hinata raged and ranted about how stupid he was being, Naruto slowly recovered. The light returned to his eyes and the negative thoughts that were weighing on him lifted, and he felt lighter than he had in the last few days. He started grinning goofily when he registered and understood what Hinata was trying to say, feeling overjoyed that Hinata intended to keep her promise and was actually angry when he suggested otherwise.

'I'm really lucky to have her' he thought as he got up and walked to Hinata who was still ranting and on impulse, enveloped her into a hug. Hinata was shocked and stiffened but when it sunk in, she smiled warmly and melted into the hug, returning the gesture. Naruto softly whispered, 'Thank you Hina-chan" in a voice full of emotion and Hinata felt all her anger draining away, replaced with a warm and fuzzy feeling that made her entire body tingle and made her feel lightheaded.

They broke apart after a few seconds, both blushing slightly, well more than slightly in Hinata's case. Suddenly, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and led her towards the right. Hinata looked at him questioningly and he replied, "I want to show you something, my sacred place, where I go to think." Hinata nodded warmly in understanding and they both walked together, Naruto directing them, talking and laughing.

* * *

"Wow! It's beautiful!" Hinata breathed. Hinata and Naruto were sitting nestled in between the spikes on the Fourth Hokage's head, in the Hokage monument; this was Naruto's special place, his place of solace. This was where he escaped to when the beatings of the villagers got to bad, where he went when he had to think, where he took all his important decisions, and his most favourite place in all of Konoha.

Hinata was currently referring to the sun setting over the horizon. The Hokage monument had the best view of the sunset, apart from the Hokage's office itself. The sun was currently half dipped over the horizon, and the sky looked like a work of art. It was painted in vibrant hues of red orange and purple, and together these colours looked like a painting by a master artist.

"Yes, Yes it is." Naruto replied, only loud enough for Hinata to hear. They both sat, huddled together, admiring the view in comfortable silence, and watching as the sun set completely, their hearts, minds and souls at peace.

* * *

**A/N: I would like to mention that the taijutsu mentioned in this chapter- Yōshin-ryū- does actually exist and the founder and meaning are mentioned factually. The description however is fictional and all mentions of this style in the story will not be completely factual. This is not meant to offend anyone's sensibilities and I apologize if it does.**

**Feedback is always welcome. Please review!**

**~Midnight Curls. **


	6. 6 New Beginnings

**A/N: Here is chapter 6. Enjoy.**

**~Midnight Curls. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

-TIME SKIP-

Cerulean eyes stared back at the mirror. Uzumaki Naruto was currently standing in front of the dirty and cracked mirror in his small apartment. He was wearing a half sleeved plain black t- shirt with an Uzumaki swirl on the right sleeve and neon orange shinobi pants with black sandals. This was very odd for him as he was perpetually clad in his signature neon orange jumpsuit...

* * *

-FLASHBACK-

Hinata and Naruto were sprawled under 'The Tree', enjoying a self given day off from training. They had decided to take today off, as it was a Sunday and neither felt like training after almost two consecutive weeks of training. Tomorrow was the day- the day they would join the ninja academy- the day that would be the beginning of a long road to becoming Shinobi of Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves.

They were cloud watching, imagining what the clouds looked like. "Bunny rabbit" said Hinata, pointing to a cloud. "Ehh! Hina-chan, how can that be a rabbit? It's a ramen bowl!" said Naruto with conviction, looking in that direction. "No! See the two pointy things sticking out at the top, those are the ears", insisted Hinata "Nuh-uh! Those are the chopsticks!"

They bickered for a while, and then lapsed back into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Hinata broke the silence, "Naru-kun..." "Hmm..." "Ano... maybe we should change our outfits... we are joining the academy after all..." "Why should we? What's wrong with our outfits?" "Umm... it'll mark a new chapter in our lives... that's what I had thought" said Hinata in a small voice, sounding a little dejected.

Propping himself up on his elbows, "Actually, when you explain it, it does actually make sense. Let's do it!" Naruto said in a bright voice smiling. He pushed himself up, into a sitting position and was just about to get up when a thought crossed his mind and his happiness suddenly died; eyes full of sadness. Softly, he said, 'I can't, Hina-chan, the shopkeepers hate me, they won't even let me into their shops, much less sell to Me." he said sadly.

Smiling shyly Hinata replied, "I can buy your clothes for you, Naru-kun, don't worry. Just tell me your size and I can buy them for you." Returning the smile, Naruto nodded in understanding, his eyes grateful. He got up, pulling Hinata up as he did and they both started to walk towards town, side by side."

-END FLASHBACK

* * *

And that was the reason for this oddity. Hinata had picked out a perfect outfit for him, it still had the neon orange that Naruto loved, but it had been toned down a bit by the black t-shirt, so it looked bright, not ridiculous.

'It's not as good as my awesome jumpsuit, but it's pretty good' he thought, 'Hinata-chan picked it out after all', picking up the supplies that the Hokage had gotten him, heading out the door with a smile on his face, to meet Hinata at their training grounds, so that they could walk to the academy together.

Meanwhile, Hinata too was getting ready. Her outfit now consisted of a violet t-shirt, a lavender jacket, still on the bulky side, which she wore half open and dark violet, almost black, shinobi pants with black shinobi sandals. She had grown her hair out a little longer, just short of her shoulders. She looked more confident than she had ever looked before.

Looking in the mirror, she thought 'Having Naru-kun as a friend really has changed me. I look less nervous, and before he became my friend, I would never have had the guts to leave my jacket open. Smiling happily, she too retrieved her supplies from her closet where she had neatly arranged them last night and closed her bedroom door, walking toward their training ground.

* * *

"Nervous?" asked Naruto as Hinata approached him. He was standing, leaning against 'the Tree' waiting for her to arrive. It was seven ten in the morning and the academy started at seven thirty. "Yeah, a little" came Hinata's quiet voice. "Me too, but we can do this, together," said Naruto. They talked for a few moments, reassuring each other, and then started walking in the direction on the academy, when Naruto suddenly said, cheeks ablaze, "And, you look really pretty Hina-chan" before running up ahead, trying to hide his blush, while Hinata stood in the middle of the ground, dumbfounded, trying not to faint, doing an exceptional imitation of a tomato.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata had just walked into the building that housed the ninja academy and were greeted by the sight of a kind looking lady who immediately smiled at Hinata but stared coldly when she saw Naruto. After a moment of glaring at Naruto, she turned and smiled again at Hinata and directed a smile again at Hinata, directing her to the correct classroom, while she purposefully ignored Naruto.

'Why does she hate Naru-kun? He couldn't possibly have done anything to her! He's so kind, yet..' were the thoughts that ran through her head as she watched the scene unfolded in front of her. She felt an uncharacteristic rage bubbling in her stomach. Being of the kind and gentle spirit that she was, this was a feeling that was unfamiliar to her, except she had found recently, when Naruto was concerned.

Deciding to ponder over it at a later, more appropriate time, she stole a quick glance at Naruto, and saw sadness in the eyes that she had come to identify with feeling of happiness and security. Feeling the need to do something, she coldly glared at the lady when she kindly smiled at her and gave her directions, eliciting a surprised look from the lady as she grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him in the appropriate direction.

Immersed, as she was, in her task, she missed the look of utter surprise, amazement and bliss reflected in Naruto's cerulean eyes.

Naruto and Hinata walked into the directed room and were greeted by a chuunin with light brown hair tied up in a ponytail and hazel eyes. He had caramel coloured skin and a noticeable scar that went across his nose and cheeks. He greeted them kindly, both of them, without any prejudice. Both Hinata and Naruto looked really happy at the prospect of their teacher not hating him and he motioned for them to sit down as he turned his attention to other students that were trickling in.

Naruto and Hinata actually were one of the first students to arrive; they looked around to find a boy with round black sunglasses and a heavy coat sitting a few rows from the front, the classroom otherwise empty. They chose seats next to each other in the middle of the class, in the fourth or fifth row from the front.

The class they were sitting in was average, neutral coloured walls, a board in the front of the class. There were about seven rows of benches, each with three benches up. They looked around; looking at the place they would call home for the next few years.

* * *

Time flew by and soon, it was time for the academy to start. They were going to be proud and true shinobi of Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves, one of the five great shinobi villages. This was the beginning of their journey. Little did they know, just by the fact that our two young heroes were the best of friends, there time here would be remarkably different from what it would have been otherwise. Things had already been set into motion, but this, the time that they would spend here would be the turning point, a pivotal point in not only their own destinies but also that of their soon to be classmates, their village, and even the path of the entire shinobi world.

But blissfully unaware of this fact, said heroes were currently sitting in their teachers class, who identified himself as Umino Iruka, who was to be their teacher for their time here at the academy. He had introduced himself and was currently droning on about something or the other, Naruto had lost track about ten minutes ago. 'Damn, this is so boring! The teacher seems nice enough; he didn't glare at me or anything but his voice is literally boring enough to put me to sleep... Well, since he was nice to me, I guess I kind of owe him, so I won't pull any of my infamous pranks today. But, if the academy is so boring, I guess I'll have to break out my pranks then.' he thought.

Continuing to daydream, 'Hina-chan explains things to me so much better. Iruka-sensei seems nice, but he drones too much. Hina-chan on the other hand...' he started mentally rambling. He snapped out of his reverie when he heard a kid, two seats next to him, standing, introducing himself.

'Damn! I lost track of time while thinking about Hina-chan' he thought, mentally berating himself as a light flush could be seen on his cheeks. Deciding to pay attention, he snapped back to reality as Hinata was about to gat u and introduce herself as it was her turn. 'It's my turn next' he mentally noted as he smiled reassuringly at her.

Gathering up all the courage that she had acquired in her time spent with Naruto and the reassured feeling she got when he smiled at her, Hinata introduced herself, trying not to stutter- "O-Ohayou. M-my name is Hi-Hinata Hyuuga. M-my hobbies are gardening, flower pressing, and s-spending time with my friends. My dream is to be strong enough to be able to protect my family." Growing more confident as she continued her speech, smiling softly towards her left, where Naruto was sitting, aiming the last part at him.

Feeling happy at her words and more confident from the smile that she gave him, he stood and said- "Ohayou! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! My hobbies are pulling pranks, eating ramen, and spending time with my friend. My dream is to be able to protect my family, and to be Hokage! Dattebayo!" he exclaimed. There were a hew snickers going around the class but Iruka just smiled kindly at him, and motioned for him to sit down so the next person could introduce themselves.

Naruto and Hinata sat through all the introductions and subsequently the instructions. They were let off early as it was their first day, and consequently, at around half past noon, Hinata and Naruto found themselves standing in front of the building that housed the ninja academy.

Looking around, Hinata saw no one from the Hyuuga, indicating that her father couldn't care less about what she did. Her mind wandered off to the incident that had taken place about a few weeks before when she had asked him to sign the agreement form for her entering the ninja academy and he had sneered at her in contempt and disgust, and brushed past her as if she was some sort of vermin. She had missed her mother fiercely that day. She had run to Naruto that day and though he was angry at her family and a bit surprised, he had opened his arms and let her cry on his shoulder. Her musings were interrupted when a voice cut in, "So, Hina-chan, lunch?" Deciding to continue her ponderings at a later time, and feeling a little mischievous, she replied "As long as it's not ramen", smiling. They walked toward the area of town, Naruto grovelling and begging for ramen as Hinata giggled quietly, by now used to his antics, walking side by side as if they had known each other for years. And as they walked to lunch, Hinata finally agreeing to ramen after almost fifteen minutes of begging and grovelling, they figured they could suffer through it together.

* * *

-TIME SKIP-

It had been two weeks since their first official day at the ninja academy, and things were how they always were at the ninja academy- utterly and mind numbingly boring. Naruto and Hinata continued to train after academy, spending more time in the process and delaying their return to their respective loveless and lonely homes. Their training continued as before and they were progressing, slowly, inch by inch; but it was progress at least.

It was lunch time and Naruto and Hinata were walking towards the field where they would eat their (read Hinata's) lunch. On their second day, Naruto had gotten could packets of pre cooked instant ramen to eat and she had offered him some of her self cooked food on seeing the longing look in his eyes at freshly prepared home, made bento. He had instantly fallen in love with it, declaring it was one of the best meals he had ever eaten, second only to Ichiraku ramen; which coming from him was the highest compliment he could give anyone. Hinata had simply blushed in pride and taken to preparing lunch for the both of them.

In their two weeks at the academy, Naruto had already pulled three elaborate and surprisingly well earned pranks to alleviate his boredom and had been caught for only one, which had earned him detention, a lecture from Iruka and a reproachful look from Hinata while she tried to repress the small smile that always flourished on her face at one of his ridiculous and over the top antics.

They were walking out of the building, Hinata listening while Naruto waved his hands about, enthusiastically waving his arms about and describing his plans for his next prank when suddenly, lost in his description, Naruto banged into someone, which resulted in both of them sprawled on the floor. Naruto picked himself up and began to apologize- "I'm really sor-" when he was interrupted by a sneer dripping with disgust and contempt- "Can't you see where you're going, dobe?" said sneer originated from a boy with pale skin, with inky black eyes and hair to match he had fairly long hair and long bangs, which partially covered his eyes. The boy was wearing a dark blue shirt with white shorts. Naruto recognised him as a student from his class, though he could not place his name.

Not one to take insults without retaliation, he replied "I said I'm sorry, geez! Take that stick out of your ass! Teme!" said Naruto sticking his tongue out. Said boy merely sneered at him, saying "Hn, dobe." and stalked off. A red and white fan could be seen on the back of his shirt.

Naruto was almost fuming when a lazy voice drawled, attracting the attention of both Naruto and Hinata, "Don't bother with him, that's Uchiha Sasuke, he's always like that." The voice came from a boy wearing black and dark green clothes, his brown hair pulled up into a high ponytail, making his head look like a pineapple while dark hazel eyes stared at them. "I'm Shikamaru, by the way." He continued.

They introduced themselves and decided to eat lunch together. An altercation at the playground and a lazy interference was how these people met. Little did they know that this was the beginning of a friendship that would run so deep that eventually, they would consider each other family.

* * *

**A/N: Remember, reviews go straight to my fingers. :P**

**~Midnight Curls. :)**


	7. 7 Dreams

**A/N: Howdy! The latest chapter is up! It's a bit short and is more like a filler.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

**~Midnight Curls**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Uzumaki Naruto stared in despair and sighed at his packet of cold instant ramen. It was lunch time at the Konoha Ninja Academy. He was sitting under a shady tree next to a boy who was lazily staring at the clouds, not bothering with lunch as he claimed it to be 'too troublesome'. Don't get him wrong, Ramen was sacred, no matter if it was instant or freshly prepared, but honestly, he had been spoiled by his best friends cooking. He had gotten used to simple, yet delicious home cooking. He not only missed her cooking, but also her company.

He missed not only the food but also the company. Sure, he was getting to know Shikamaru better in the few days they had eaten lunch together, but there was nothing like sitting and eating a delicious meal with your best friend. He sighed again. Hinata Hyuuga, Uzumaki Naruto's best friend and absence of whom Naruto was currently mooning over, was away on some unavoidable clan business.

Though she had practically been disowned from the family, and she had come to terms with the fact, all members of the Hyuuga clan had to be present for some ceremony or the other, Hinata had explained it briefly, but Naruto wasn't particularly attentive so he had no idea what it was all about. Nevertheless, his best friend was missing from the academy and couldn't even make it to their daily training for the next three days. He sighed again, it was the first day and he was already missing her.

Grumbling mentally, he started to eat. 'That reminds me Yōshin-ryū practice has been coming along well; my advanced katas are so hard though. I could hardly have come all this way without Hina-chan.' He sighed again as Hinata crossed his mind. A lazy voice broke through his thoughts as it drawled, "Stop mooning over her. Your constant sighing is too troublesome."

Naruto froze for a moment and then managed to stutter out- "H-how did-"before Shikamaru Nara interrupted him "Don't even bother denying it and it's beyond obvious that you miss her. For god's sake, get over it or at the very least, stop sighing."

Naruto stared at Shikamaru dumbstruck and after a few seconds nodded. They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few more seconds before Naruto, as usual broke the silence.

"So, anyway, what d'ya wanna do? In the future I mean." Asked Naruto, curiosity evident on his face.

"Ehh... It's too troublesome to talk about." Shikamaru drawled. Smiling slightly, Naruto looked at Shikamaru with a glint in his eye that could only mean trouble. Shikamaru on the other hand, felt a sinking feeling in his gut and he came to the realisation that Naruto was going to sue him as his new source of entertainment and would somehow get him to share his dream.

'Damn, I should have denied it when I had the chance. Now he's going to find out no matter what. He's nothing if not persistent' was the thought that ran through Shikamaru's head.

"Sharing is Caring, Shikamaru-kun" said Naruto in a sickly sweet voice, in a tone that could give the listener diabetes. Shikamaru knew that that sentence was the beginning of a long string of nearly one sided conversations until he finally caved and confessed. Shaking his head in resignation, he sighed and went back to his lunch, listening to Naruto chatter on, determined to find out exactly what his dream was. The genius couldn't have been more right.

* * *

It was the third and final day of Hinata's absence and Naruto was still determined to finish the mission he had assigned to himself- annoy a confession out of Shikamaru.

He had used some of the best tricks in his arsenal- and got the feeling that Shikamaru was just about to cave. All he needed was one last push and victory would be his. Uzumaki Naruto was currently thinking (read plotting) this as he sat in Umino Iruka's class. Iruka was droning on in the background about the Sandaime and how he had brought about changes in the structure if the governing council or something as boring.

Using his ability to drone out Iruka's voice, Naruto was instead using his time more wisely (at least in his own opinion) to plot how he was going to crack the lazy genius. He was already at the brink Naruto just had to figure out how in the world he was going to finally get Shikamaru to 'fess up.

He had already used all the common gags; harmless pranks, incessant chatter that annoyed him, even getting Akimichi Chouji to join him by bribing him with an extra large packet of BBQ chips, waking him up in class- disturbing his naps, and even calling him Shika-kun in his signature sickly sweet voice reminiscent of the horrors that were fangirls.

Naruto shuddered at the mere mention of the word 'Fangirl'. He had discovered the terror of these horrid creatures firsthand, about a week back. It had been lunchtime and the four, Hinata, Naruto, Shikamaru and Chouji were all sitting under a shady tree in the playground of the academy. It had been a few days since the altercation with Sasuke and Naruto was loudly complaining about what a jerk Sasuke had been, not realising that the presidents of the Sasuke fan club, Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino along with a few club members where standing nearby.

Big mistake; scratch that, Huge mistake. Wait, that's an understatement- Gigantic mistake. To summarise, it was the day from hell. Naruto sent the entire day trying to avoid the fury of all the members of the Sasuke fan club. He was beaten up, scratched at, and generally manhandled by the enraged fangirls. Naruto shuddered again at the memory.

Truly, hell hath no fury like a fangirls scorned, as Naruto had found out on that fateful day. Shaking his head to get rid of his wandering thoughts, 'Back to Shika... hmm... what should I do... it's not like I can scare him out of it... only fangirls are that scary. That's it! Yes! I've got it!'

Rubbing his hands and laughing maniacally in his head, Naruto continued to plot his evil plan.

* * *

'Trrinnng' the final bell rang and it was time. Naruto had spent the entire day planning and executing his plan. Operation Shika was at its final stage: confrontation. As Naruto quickly shoved everything into his bag, other students were filing out of the classroom, eager to get out of the academy.

Shikamaru was happily snoring away at his desk, Iruka having given up in trying keeping him awake after lunch. He was blissfully unaware of the plan that Naruto had put into action and the fate that awaited him if he did not comply with Naruto's wishes.

"Boo!" screamed Naruto, right into the snoozing Shikamaru's ear. "Huh?"He awoke with a start. Sleepy and dazed, Shikamaru looked around bleary eyed, trying to figure out what was going on. Eyes focusing on Naruto, he asked, "What do you want Naruto?"

Waiting for a few moments so that Shikamaru was fully awake, Naruto explained the situation, "You're going to tell me, 'cause if you don't, I'm gonna plaster the entire academy with papers in your forged handwriting saying you think Sasuke is a total wimp and then the fangirls will come after you."

'Shit! He's right! The fangirls will come after me and those girls are frickin' scary when they are pissed off, especially if they think I said that stuff. They'll kill me! Shit! I have no other option! He's right! I have to do it! Damn you Naruto! Well played indeed. I guess he can be smart after all. Well damn!' Shikamaru was mentally panicking. Outwardly, though he retained his lazy expression and glared at while Naruto continued to smile gleefully, knowing that Shikamaru was going to tell him.

Sighing in resignation, Shikamaru glared balefully at Naruto and then took a deep breath. He began "My dream is to become a decent shinobi, not too bad, not too good, to attain chuunin rank, and get a job that's not too troublesome, maybe at the academy, and then find am average civilian girl that's neither too pretty nor too ugly and marry her, and have two children, first a daughter and then a son, and I'll retire when my daughter gets married and my son becomes a jounin, and I'll spend the remainder of my days playing Shogi and Go."

Shikamaru looked up from his monologue to see Naruto considering this carefully instead of poking fun at it like Shikamaru had expected. His eyes were thoughtful, and his expression sombre as he did so.

They sat in silence in the empty classrooms for a few moments, each boy lost in his own thoughts when Naruto broke the silence by asking in a thoughtful voice, "what if a war breaks out? We do live in a shinobi village after all, it's quite likely. If you become an average shinobi, what if you don't have the strength to protect your family? What then?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened in shock- not only had Naruto considered his dream in all seriousness, he had also found a loophole and a valid one at that. It was something that he, a supposed genius had not considered and Naruto had asked immediately. 'Perhaps there is more to this blonde prankster after all. And he raises a valid point, what if I'm not able to protect them?'

A voice interrupted his thoughts "Thanks for telling me Shika, I'll see you tomorrow" with that, Naruto waved and walked towards the door, heading home.

'Surprising... that was odd.' thought Shikamaru.

* * *

Hinata Hyuuga was getting ready for the academy. She had taken three days off from the academy for some Hyuuga ceremonies that she had to attend. It was seventy two hours of boredom. She was stared at, insulted, sneered at, and made fun of. 'Father practically disowned me and I still have to go through this. Hmph!" she thought grumpily.

Since she had become friends with Naruto, she had learnt to be more open with her emotions, at least when she was alone. 'It didn't bother me so much though, it still hurt, but not so bad; I mean I've kinda stopped caring what the majority of the Hyuuga clan thinks. I'm gonna prove to them that I'm not a failure and make Kaa-san and Naru-kun proud' she thought with quiet determination as she brushed her hair.

She was slowly but surely growing into a girl who possessed strength and quiet determination, with a shy personality but who suddenly became very fiery when you threatened someone precious to her.

She took one last look at the mirror, smiling when her eye caught the picture if her Kaa-san when she was still alive and turned on her heel, and walked out of the door, ready to face what the day threw at her.

* * *

What the day threw at her coincidentally was everyone's favourite loud mouth and orange loving ninja to be, Uzumaki Naruto. She walked towards their tree, hoping that he would be there too, so that they could walk to the academy together, and when she arrived, she found him waiting. They caught each other's eye and smiled, both happy to be reunited, each blushing slightly.

He immediately sprang up and ran toward her, and pulled her into a tight hug, burying his nose into her hair as a familiar hotness took its place on her face. She tentatively hugged him back and he whispered softly, "I missed you, Hina-chan."

That was it. She did what any respectable girl did when her best friend who she just happened to be developing a major crush on, hugs her tightly like his life depends upon it and confesses that he missed her after just three days.

She fainted.

* * *

**A/N: Hmm... that's all for now.**

**Thinking of doing a major time skip. Thoughts?**

**Reviews are love!**

**~Midnight Curls :D**


	8. 8 Chosen Path

**A/N: Yo! I'm back with a (hopefully) less pointless chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

'Trrinnng' the final bell for the academy rang. Teachers and students alike sighed in relief because another mind numbingly boring day at the academy had come to an end. Students of all ages alike scurried out of their respective classrooms to get out of the hell hole that this village called the shinobi academy.

Uzumaki Naruto, meanwhile, thanked whatever higher power he could think of for bringing the academy to an end. Today the topic that Iruka was discussing were the legalities of jutsus, and everyone, even those who could tolerate his other droning lectures found themselves wishing that a black hole would appear in the ground and swallow them, just so that they could get away from the annoying lecture and droning voice which left them wanting to kill something.

'Maybe it's the leaf's village conspiracy to make shinobi killing machines- subjecting us to Iruka's lectures for the next three years to come would certainly make violent genin' thought Shikamaru, eyebrow twitching, as he lazily got up from his seat in a now almost empty classroom, lazily picking up his bag, when something caught his eye.

Naruto and Hinata were sitting next to each other at their regular spot. Nothing unusual about that, they were practically joined at the hip. No, what was surprising was that Hinata was confidently explaining something to Naruto, and she didn't stutter, not once. On closer inspection, she looked confident, and Naruto actually looked to be hanging onto her every word, and both looked like they were lost in a world where only they existed. Naruto looked to have cracked a joke and hinata giggled and then realising she had been distracted, she smacked him lightly on the head in mock exasperation, both laughing the whole while.

'Hmm... This is interesting... when alone with Naruto; Hinata transforms into a -confident and assured girl, no stutter- nothing. And around Hinata, Naruto transforms into a happy and interesting person, no obnoxious bravado and prankster facade. Tch... Figuring these two out is too troublesome... and then there is the training they seem to do every day, god knows what. I have no idea what their skill level is... sigh... these two really are troublesome... and then there's that conversation with Naruto two days back...' All these thoughts running through his head were making Shikamaru's feet hurt.

Sighing, an act that was becoming more and more common these days, he turned and walked out the door, he had a lot to think about and some very important cloud watching to get to... He would continue trying to figure them out later...

* * *

Naruto and Hinata meanwhile, were oblivious to Shikamaru's observation of their conversation. Hinata was explaining to Naruto about the Aburame clan and how they used bugs in battle. She was just explaining the implantation of bugs in newborn children when he asked, "Does that mean you can defeat them with bug spray?" and Hinata found herself giggling as Naruto mimed fighting someone while spraying an imaginary can. Hinata smacked him on the back of the head lightly and continued to explain, until he understood.

When they both looked up from their conversation, they found the classroom deserted, not a soul in sight, they both packed up and walked out of the door, heading to Ichiraku ramen for their usual lunch, talking about random trivial things as they did so.

"Hina-chan, what are we going to do about training?" asked Naruto, face serious, after wolfing down his bowl of Miso ramen. Hinata took a sip of her bowl before looking at Naruto who was sitting across her in their usual booth at Ichiraku ramen stand.

"We're going to have to plan. Today, after our usual routine, let's sit under 'the Tree' and plan. For now, just eat your ramen." She said thoughtfully. "Why, Hina-chan what happened to the cute girl who used to stutter around me? Who's this girl that orders me around?" asked Naruto in jest. "Why Naru-kun, she met this boy with horrible table manners and he ruined her prim and proper attitude" came the reply, while Hinata stuck out her tongue to add to the effect.

Naruto shook his head laughing, too enamoured by the new Hinata and her confident attitude, at least around him to realise that he had been insulted. He stuck his tongue out too, even making a funny face, while thinking, 'I could get used to this Hinata...'

* * *

"We have to continue training on our own to get stronger, so that we can achieve our dreams, we'll have to teach ourselves and train like crazy 'cause the academy doesn't concentrate that much on the important stuff, and teaches us useless crap about Konoha's history..."

"It's not all useless, but you're right, we do have to continue training. And there's also the matter of how much skill we want to show. Should we hide the strength we acquire?"

"NO!" said Naruto firmly.

"We don't have to show off..." started Hinata when she was interrupted. "I don't care about showing off! We have to show those utter idiots that your family calls elders that you are by no means, not even remotely close to being a failure. And that means we have to top the academy, even if it creates problems. We can face the problems together, but we won't back down."

Hinata looked shocked but then a slow, but genuine smile spread on her face as his words registered. 'He was looking out for her! He wanted to show those people who made her feel like an utter failure for so many years of my life. He was utterly and completely sure that she would make a good kunoichi, so much so in fact that he said it with the air that it was an obvious fact. He has so much faith in me.' thought Hinata as she felt a little overwhelmed.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and looked at Naruto to find that he was on one of his usual rants about the 'retarded old fools that deserve to vanish off the face of the earth' as he put it. Smiling again, she laid her hand on his, and he stopped his tirade and they shared a smile.

"Okay, no hiding, fine" she said, "but we should keep a few secrets, we are shinobi after all."

"Agreed; I am a prankster after all."

"So you have learnt three of the advanced katas for Yōshin-ryū and mastered all seven basic katas, right?"

"Yeah, I'm completely good with the seven basic katas but I need to work on the advances ones, the second and third ones especially. But there's also the fact that I've never actually used it to fight with someone, unless you count the trunks of the trees that I've beaten up."

"We're going to have to start sparring and fighting each other." Hinata said, not looking too pleased at the idea.

Naruto meanwhile was shocked. "Wh-What? Are you serious? You're my frickin' family! I would never hurt y-" When Hinata interrupted. "We have to get stronger and gain experience fighting. I don't like the idea of fighting and hurting each other either, but it's necessary. We need to learn to fight and this is the only way to get stronger so we can learn to fight and protect each other. Plus, we trust each other to not go too far and to take care of each other when we're hurt." She said in a tone of quiet determination that showed her resolve and showed her honesty.

Naruto surprisingly didn't respond immediately shouting, instead got a sad sort of look in his eyes and in an uncharacteristic quiet voice agreed, though reluctantly. They continued to discuss what Naruto needed to learn over the three years they had at the academy. They had been at the academy for six months now and even Naruto, who 'is not exactly the sharpest kunai in the pouch', had been faring well, in the top half of the class thanks to Hinata. And Hinata stood at fifth or sixth position of the class.

They decided on what Naruto had to learn and the conversation shifted to Hinata. "Hina-chan, how's changing the Jyuuken coming along? I've seen you practising, but I have no idea about the techniques of Jyuuken so I have no idea what you're doing."

"I'm actually trying to alter the Jyuuken, something that'll get me into mountains of trouble if the Hyuuga clan found out. I realised that the reason I'm unable to grasp the Jyuuken because it's too stiff and relies too much on rigidity and strength that I don't possess. I simply don't have the brute force required for it. So I'm trying to make it more flexible, more suited to me. I'm even thinking of adding an element to it at a later stage. For now, I'm going to modify all the katas of the Hyuuga style to fit this style."

"That's really cool, Hina-chan! So let's..." they continued to discuss what to do, planning what to do for the next three years, each making resolutions to do their very best and become strong in their own ways. They made the plans and set the goals to that they would strive to achieve in the next three years.

* * *

-TIMESKIP- 4 months

A kunai whizzed through the air and Uzumaki Naruto jumped through the air, avoiding the kunai aimed at his leg, he twisted and turned, using the flexibility he had developed in the past few months of training, to avoid the onslaught of the well aimed kunai. He threw a few shuriken as he was dodging, trying to get close enough to his opponent to engage in close combat.

He dodged and jumped, all the while moving closer. Keeping an eye on his best friend, sparring partner and honorary family, he threw kunai of his own. 'Aha! Now!' he thought, as Hyuuga Hinata was forced to dodge his attack, giving him enough time to charge toward her, and immediately aimed a kick at her knees. She jumped in the air, landing just a few paces away from him.

There was a lull, just for a second before a flurry of activity broke out. Hinata aimed a jab at his ribs, and Naruto dodged, aiming a punch on her left shoulder, which she crouched to avoid, trying to kick Naruto's feet to make him lose balance. Naruto meanwhile back-flipped but the kick caught his ankle while a well aimed punch to her ribs hit Hinata.

They moved around for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only a few minutes, their inexperience could be seen, but each moved with a fluidity that if developed, would make them formidable fighters indeed. The fight ended when Naruto caught a lucky break and he performed a sweep kick which ended up with Hinata on her back.

'Well damn! Almost had him, and my guard slipped! I'll have to be more careful next time, maybe I should adjust...' thought Hinata when her musings were interrupted by Naruto's concerned voice, "You okay, Hina-chan?", standing near her, holding out a hand so he could pull her up. She grabbed his hand and nodded, and let herself be pulled up.

Once on her feet, she smiled at him and said, "Good match, Naru-kun."

"Yeah, but I got lucky, I just caught a lucky break when you let your guard down. Oh! And now the score stands at 61-60! I'm catching up!"

"Oh shut up!" she said playfully, sticking his tongue out at him.

Naruto and Hinata had both grown tremendously in the past few months. Naruto had not only learnt to read and write properly under Hinata's patient guidance, he had mastered the advanced katas of the Yōshin-ryū, though he still had to perfect using them in battle.

Hinata, on the other hand, too had grown, she had gained immense confidence and was a whole lot less nervous around people thanks to Naruto. Her modifications to the Jyuuken were almost finished and she and spent hours perfecting each stance. She was close to done with all the advanced stances, but she had to continue modifying each one to perfect the balance and form of each stance.

Despite the flaws in both their fighting styles, they had sparred everyday for the last few days, and were closely matched, though lately, Naruto seemed to be growing at tremendous rates. Hinata had discovered he had immense potential and seemed to pick up fighting effortlessly. Even with his natural clumsiness, while fighting, he moved with a fluidity that was extraordinary, second only to that of Hinata, who seemed to dance with the grace of a goddess with her modified Jyuuken.

It was evening, around five thirty, and they walked toward town, to eat something together, as they did every evening every evening, each feeling lucky to have the other...

* * *

Naruto and Hinata walked into their classroom at the academy, in comfortable silence, and walked to their usual spot next to each other, mentally preparing themselves for the test that they had today, and revising what they had learnt.

After their resolution four months ago to do their very best at the academy, they had gone all out and studied really hard. Even Naruto, with Hinata's patient tutoring, now stood at fifth or sixth place in class, his physical grades tied with Sasuke and Hinata while his academic grades just above average.

Hinata on the other hand, had flourished beautifully. She had a natural knack for academics and all her training with Naruto left her tied at the top with Naruto and Sasuke and overall, she stood at the top of the class, tied with the exact same grades with Sasuke.

This had resulted in their mutual dislike to develop into a strong rivalry with both Naruto and Hinata. Naruto had expressed constantly how proud he was of Hinata and his pride in her paired with the success she had achieved over the last few months had made her open up even more, and she had lost her stutter all but completely, only reappearing when she was extremely nervous.

They had even bonded with Shikamaru and Chouji, over lunch at the academy. They had found Shikamaru to have a sarcastic and lazy sense of humour which was almost completely lost on Naruto but set both Chouji and Hinata into uncontrollable laughter.

Chouji was a sweet and mild sort of guy, being best friends with Shikamaru would do that to a person. He rarely got angry, but when he did, it was advisable to one's health to run and hide, as Sasuke had found out when he made the fatal mistake of calling him F-A-T. Only the interference of Iruka and the other academy instructors had saved Sasuke from being utterly pounded, but he had still gotten a good beating.

Life was good for our young heroes, as they worked at becoming stronger, determined to succeed, making friends and rivals as they moved forward on their chosen path.

* * *

**A/N: Aaand, cut! I'm going to be time skipping the next few chapters, and fast-forward to the time when they become genin. Thank you, serialkeller, for the advice and ideas.**

**Feedback is appreciated.**

**~Midnight Curls. :)**


	9. 9 Wind, Water and Bunshins

**A/N: Yo! Procrastination is my superpower. :P**

**Here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**-TIME SKIP- 4 months**

"Blasted thing! Damn it to the seven levels of hell!" Uzumaki Naruto swore as Hinata Hyuuga giggled at his frustration. It had been four more months since that exam at the academy. Currently, what Naruto was eternally damning was the 'Bunshin Jutsu', which no matter what he did, eluded him.

While all of his classmates could easily make two to four healthy looking Bunshin, Naruto could barely manage one sickly looking Bunshin, which could be destroyed by just poking it. "Hina-chaaannn" Naruto whined as Hinata tried to curb her giggles at his bad luck and incompetence.

Hinata put on a mischievous look and looked ready to poke fun (literally) at his Bunshin, but one look at the truly dejected look in his eyes brought a screeching halt to her plans. Instead, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and when wide cerulean eyes looked up at her, she smiled softly, and whispered, "I'll help."

She knew she had made the right call and decided to leave the teasing till after when cerulean orbs looked hopeful again and the dejected look had all but disappeared.

They both got to their feet and stood facing each other. Hinata pondered how she could help, before it flashed clearly before her. She activated her Byakugan and said softly, "Naru, try making another Bunshin". As Naruto complied, Hinata let loose a gasp of surprise. She rechecked what she was seeing and looked utterly surprised.

Naruto looked at her curiously, wondering what had surprised her, as his Bunshin looked the same as always – sickly and useless. She shook her surprise away and deactivated her Byakugan. "What's it, Hinata-chan?"

"Umm... Naru-kun, it's just that I've never seen one person with so much chakra before. I mean, you have Jounin level chakra reserves, and that' nearly impossible."

"How's that possible, Hina-chan? I mean that's cool and all but how come?" said Naruto, looking nearly as surprised as her. Hinata shook her head and shrugged, indicating that she had absolutely no idea how or why it was so.

They stood in silence, each lost in their own thoughts when Hinata broke the silence, "Anyway, I at least know what the problem is and why you can't make proper Bunshin."

"You have got to tell me why the blasted thing doesn't even work!" came the reply.

"You see the problem is, that you are using way too much chakra in the Bunshin, you're putting about twenty clones worth chakra in trying to make one Bunshin."

"But, I feel like I'm pulling only a little chakra." Naruto sighed. "How do I know how much chakra to use?"

Hinata activated her Byakugan again and said "Okay, try making a Bunshin again only this time use the least amount of chakra you possibly can."

Naruto complied, using the least chakra he could, concentrating very hard to do so. There was a puff of smoke and when it cleared, there was a Bunshin, still pale and sickly looking. Testing out a theory, Hinata walked to the clone, and poked it. When it didn't spontaneously burst, she nodded and turned to a surprised looking Naruto, satisfied to see that her theory was right.

"Whoa, Hina-chan! That was amazing! How'd you know?"

"Since you have so much chakra, your chakra control is practically non- existent and once I figured out that you were using way too much chakra, I realised the excess chakra was overloading the clones and making your Bunshin useless. I asked you to use the least amount of chakra you could, to test that out. Basically, even your least amount of chakra is about ten times the amount needed, so to fix it, you're gonna have to learn decent chakra control. With the amount of chakra you have, perfect chakra control is practically impossible, so you should aim for decent." Hinata explained.

Naruto slowly nodded his head in understanding, still processing all that Hinata had told him. He was lost in his own thoughts for a while, and suddenly snapped out of it and looked around for Hinata, who he found flopped under 'the Tree', cooling off from her previous training, hands under her head, and staring up at the darkening sky. Winter had set in and though it was only six pm, the sky was well on its way to becoming dark.

'Must have gotten tired of me spacing out' thought Naruto, as he called put, "Hina-chan, please tell me you have a plan to get me to learn how to control my chakra."

Eyes still stuck to the beautiful sky, she replied "Maaaaybbe I do..."

"Hinnnaa-chaann" Naruto whined good-naturedly, "No more ramen after training for a week and I'll help" came the reply. "NOO! You're mean Hina-chan!" and continued to dramatically mourn the loss of his beloved ramen, while Hinata sighed, amused, and watched the sky darken further, enjoying the (relative) peace of the moment.

* * *

"I'm going to teach you some basic chakra control exercises. Since the Hyuuga rely very heavily on perfect chakra control, all the children are taught chakra control as soon as they start to walk. So, I'll be able to help you by teaching you these exercises, and help you attain decent chakra control. It won't be easy, with the amount of chakra you have. But this will come in very handy later on when we learn more advanced jutsu and will enable you to perform the academy taught Henge, Kawarami, and Bunshin jutsus." explained Hinata.

After an average day at the academy, Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto had gone through their usual taijutsu routine, sparred, with Hinata winning simply because Naruto had gotten distracted, and Hinata was currently explaining what they were going to do to give Naruto some semblance of chakra control.

Naruto nodded with a determined expression on his face. "First, I'm going to teach you the basic leaf exercise. Take a leaf and using only chakra, try to make it stick to some part of your body. Start with your arm because it's the easiest. Draw chakra and visualise it as a layer between the leaf and your arm. Too little chakra and it won't stick and too much and it'll blow off" said Hinata, as she demonstrated making the leaf stick to her arm.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically and replied in the affirmative. Then he grabbed a leaf and tried to do what Hinata had demonstrated. A second later, the leaf was billowing away to Suna. 'Well that worked out perfectly' thought Naruto wryly as he picked up another leaf and tried again.

A hundred and four leaves later, Naruto decided to call it a day. His chakra control hadn't gotten better at all, the leaf still blew off to god knows where no matter how he hard he tried to draw the least chakra he could. He sighed. 'It's gonna be a long couple of months...' he thought and looked around for Hinata. She was in her usual place, still practising her modified Jyuuken techniques.

"Ready to go, Hina-chan?"

"Coming Naru-kun. How do you feel about sushi?" she asked happily, relishing her 'Freedom from Ramen' week as they walked to the town together, the sun dipping into the horizon behind them.

* * *

**-TIME SKIP- 4 Months**

Uzumaki Naruto was currently doing something that n one ever expected him to do. No it was nothing dramatic like giving up ramen or declaring that he didn't want to be Hokage, but it was just as bizarre. He was sitting, leaning against a tree, his full concentration on *gasp* a book. He seemed to be interestedly reading this book, with no threats hanging over his head, nobody badgering him into doing it. It almost seemed as if he honestly wanted to read this book.

It was after Naruto and Hinata's normal day at the academy and Hinata had gone back to the Hyuuga compound for a change of clothes because of an accident *cough prank gone wrong cough* at the academy. Naruto had already changed and was waiting for Hinata to show up at their usual training spot, and this was where this bizarre scene was taking place.

'Chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy. Everyone had chakra, but most have negligible amounts that can't be used to perform jutsu. Few have enough chakra for it to be useful. Chakra flows through the body through the chakra network. There are different types of chakra. Most people have a certain elemental affinity. This means that their chakra is inclined to do one type of elemental jutsus. For example, if you are a fire type, then fire jutsus are easier to learn are easier to learn, and require less chakra than other jutsu to perform but water jutsu are harder to learn and perform' Naruto read.

'Hmm... So each person has an elemental affinity... I wonder what mine is... Actually, come to think about it, didn't Hinata say that her taijutsu felt incomplete, despite modifying all the Jyuuken stances to be more flexible. She already explained that she uses chakra in her taijutsu for hitting her opponents... what if she added elemental chakra to her taijutsu, won't that make it even more effective...' thought Naruto, nodding his head, thinking that it was a good idea.

He enthusiastically started reading again, determined to help Hinata just as much as she helped him...

"Hina-chan, I have an idea"

"Well that's a rare occurrence"

"Mean as always Hina-chan" there meaningless, and fond banter continued for a while, till Naruto sat up from their flopped positions under 'the Tree', pulling a surprised hinata up with him.

"Seriously Hina-chan, you need to listen to this"

Recognising he was serious about something, she shook of her mischievous expression and looked at him, ready to listen to whatever he had to say.

"Remember that book you got me, about chakra and its control and uses?" he asked, continuing when she nodded in affirmation, "I read about elemental chakra, and I think you should consider adding elemental chakra to your taijutsu. You yourself said that the taijutsu feels incomplete and I thought adding elemental chakra to your taijutsu might help out, it might become more effective. You'll have to work out the details, because I know practically nothing about it, but you could consider it" finished Naruto, nervous at her reaction.

Hinata sat motionless for a few moments, frozen. This just increased Naruto's nervousness and he tentatively asked, "Hina-chan, you can just ignore the ides, it was stupid anyway, I just-" when he was interrupted by Hinata flinging herself at 'him, a huge grin on her face. "That's a great idea! Thank you! Thank you!" she squealed with excitement, disentangling herself from him, dancing around with excitement while Naruto stared at her, gobsmacked, but smiling, eyes alight with happiness, glad she liked his idea.

* * *

"So, I'm just supposed to channel chakra into this piece of paper?" asked Naruto. It had been a few days since Naruto shared his idea, and Hinata had managed to acquire two pieces of chakra sensing paper so that they could test their affinities. It was a Tuesday, and after the academy had decided that today was the day, and subsequently were sitting opposite each other.

"Yeah, that's what the book said. It the paper gets wet, it's water; if it burns it's fire; if it crumbles, it's earth; if it gets cut in two, it's wind; and finally, if it gets singed, it' lightening" explained Hinata.

"On three?" asked Naruto, barely able to contain his excitement, grinning widely. Hinata nodded, just as excited.

"One... Two... Three" and both concentrated and channelled chakra into the papers in their hands. In Hinata's palm, the paper dampened, while Naruto's cut into two, the pieces drifting to the ground as they both lost themselves in their plans for the future.

* * *

**-TIME SKIP- 4 Months**

Streams of water, glistening in the dusky light, flew in the air, circling a rotating figure. With dark shoulder length air fanning out, the girl looked like the most beautiful water nymph, an ethereal beauty with the grace of a goddess. Uzumaki Naruto watched entranced, all coherency long gone, just watching the sheer beauty in front of him.

Hinata Hyuuga meanwhile, concentrated on the streams of water, making sure she was in control of the streams that flew around her spinning on the surface of the pond that had become her latest training ground, oblivious to her entranced audience.

An eternity passed in Uzumaki Naruto's head, though in reality, it had been only twenty minutes or so. He watched, still entranced, wishing he could live in this moment forever, as he was content to watch the scene in front of him.

A thought suddenly flashed in his head, scorching his mind, his whole world changing with just that thought. 'I think I'm falling in love with her...'

* * *

Outside Naruto's mind, where eternities had passed, it had been four months since they had tested their chakra affinities. After figuring out their affinities, they had redone their training plans. Hinata, with her perfect chakra control, had quickly mastered the basic elemental chakra control exercises, and was working to perfect her advanced control on the water element so that she could incorporate it into her taijutsu.

Naruto meanwhile, struggled with normal chakra control exercises over the past few months, and was close to perfecting his taijutsu, sparring with Hinata each day. He had mastered the leaf-sticking exercise, and the tree walking exercise under the guidance of Hinata, and was supposed to learn water walking soon, as soon as he had that mastered, he would begin working with his elemental chakra, and aspired to somehow use his wind chakra with his Yōshin-ryū.

They were training incredibly hard, each fuelled by the need to prove themselves to the world, and it had been about a year and a half, since they had started the academy, having about a year and a half left. They were slowly but surely flourishing into young adults, and training to become the great shinobi they were destined to be.

* * *

**A/N: Reviews are the kryptonite to my powers of procrastination. :P**


	10. 10 Ripples, Evil Leaves, and Resolutions

**A/N: Yo! New chapter... Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**-TIME SKIP- 4 Months**

One tentative step, a ripple on the surface; a few more steps, and gentle ripples spread on the surface of the pond. "Yes!" Uzumaki Naruto crowed in delight as he ran around in circles on the surface of the pond, while Hinata Hyuuga stood on the surface too, a grin on her face, happy for her best friend.

After months of relentless struggle, he had mastered all the basic chakra control exercises, leaf sticking, tree walking and water walking. It was a moment of triumph, a well deserved accomplishment, and while Naruto stared happily at his feet on the surface of the water where Hinata did her Suiton training, Hinata smiled and shook her head, long used to the antics of her best friend.

* * *

One shimmering rope, then two. Concentrating, she commanded more and more thin streams of water until she had at least twenty ropes at her command. She made them loop and dive, moving, spinning, dissolving at her whim. Each rope followed her command and she could feel each shimmering stream.

She closed her eyes, and she felt them, her chakra commanding the water. Pouring chakra into her ropes, she made them sharp, as any sword, liquid death if they were to be let loose. She moved her glistening knives, and then all at once, let them go, letting them dissolve, the water dropping back into the pond creating ripples on the surface. She had gained control over the Suiton element; she had enough control to start work on her Jyuuken.

She opened her eyes, a smile spreading on her face, she was ready.

* * *

'Feel the chakra? Hmm... It said to imagine two blades of chakra rubbing against each other, to feel the sharp edge of the chakra and imagining that, use it to cut the leaf... Well here goes nothing...' thought Uzumaki Naruto as he stood at their usual training, a leaf in hand, and a pile more nearby as he remembered the instructions for the first wind chakra control exercise, Hinata had already gained control over her element, and thought he felt a little envious, he knew that he too had made progress by attaining some semblance of chakra control.

He also realised that he would never have perfect chakra control, like Hinata, but decent was good enough for him, and his was not abysmal anymore, and was bordering decent.

Shaking his head to clear all thoughts away, he concentrated solely on his chakra and the leaf in his head. Doing exactly as the book had said, he tried out the exercise.

And then *dramatic pause* nothing; nada; zero- the leaf lay unblemished, as if it had just been plucked, untarnished and a healthy, leafy green. And frankly the cheery colour pissed him off to no end. He immediately began planning Operation Obliviate Leaf, known to normal people as the leaf cutting exercise.

He cackled evilly as he schemed in his head, earning a concerned glance from Hinata who was going through her stretching and warming up nearby.

* * *

"Muhhahhha" an evil cackle sounded through their training ground. 'What in the-' thought Hinata as she turned to see the source of the sound. She found Naruto glaring at the leaf in his hand, a maniac grin curling his lips. She sighed softly, shaking her head slightly. In the two years that Naruto and she had become inseparable, she had learnt early on that it was better for her sanity sometimes just to remain blissfully ignorant of the thoughts that ran through his head.

She rolled her eyes and went back to warming up, Naruto was not the only that was going to take another step forward in his training, today was when she would start combining Suiton with her modified Jyuuken. She smiled happily, she had trained hard for this day, just as Naruto had trained to gain control over his chakra.

Lost in thought, she finished warming up and made her journey to the nearby pond. She walked to the centre of the pond, and started to command the ropes, reacquainting herself with the all too familiar feeling of having streams of water at her control.

Taking in a deep breath, she slipped into her familiar modified Jyuuken stance, willing her water knives to come up, positioning herself to begin what would certainly be the long process of perfecting her own taijutsu.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto hated the rain. He did not have an irrational fear of the rain, or the thunder but rain just filled him with an overwhelming sadness that he could not explain. It felt as if the sky was crying and everything looked grey and gloomy. It was for this reason that as he stared out of the window in his academy classroom during the last period, looking out into the pouring rain, that he sighed and tried to suppress the suffocating sadness that threatened to overtake him.

'TRRIINNG' the bell rang. He sighed again and thought 'Great, that's the last thing I need, now I'll have to go home 'cause Hina-chan and I can't even train in this downpour. Resigning himself to a miserable evening in his rackety apartment, he shoved his stuff into his bag and got up to say goodbye to Hinata before heading home. Hinata was taking to Iruka sensei about something, so he waited for her and passed his time by staring into space.

"What's wrong, Naru-kun?" his best friend's voice broke his reverie. He looked around, seeing the classroom mostly empty, light violet eyes staring at him in concern.

"Nothing much, Hina-chan... it's stupid really... I just don't like the rain..." knowing that it was no use denying his bad mood to his best friend, as she would see straight through it.

"Oh... why's that, Naru-kun?"

"No reason... I just hate it... I always feel gloomy during the rains." This coming from the boy who usually gave the energizer bunny a run for its money in terms of enthusiasm and optimism made Hinata feel concerned.

She couldn't bear to see her best friend 'and maybe more' she thought silently, so sad. Those cerulean pools should be full of mischief and laughter as they usually were, not dull and sad. She wished she could do something, when she was sad she always... 'Wait! That's it!' she thought as an imaginary light bulb flashed on top of her head.

A smile spread on her face and she tugged at Naruto's sleeve, quickly retrieving her stuff from her seat which was next to Naruto's. Naruto looked surprised and curious but obliged when she asked him to follow her and together, they walked out of the academy, the rain beating down on Hinata's umbrella relentlessly.

* * *

"My mother used to bring me here when I was little, and I would pretend that this was my secret palace and no one could find it except my mother and I. It was my mother's favourite place in the whole wide world, and I'm actually named after this place too. Even after she passed away, this place always made me feel safe, reminded me of her presence. This was her sanctuary and now it's mine. Spending time here always makes me feel better no matter what..." Hinata explained softly as she and Naruto stood in a small clearing, on the edge of the Hyuuga property.

It was grassy and heavily protected by all the wild growth around, the trees formed a canopy of leaves and gave shelter from the rain, though some of it still came through, but Naruto was finding he didn't mind, it was a beautiful place, even with the rain.

Suddenly, the full gravity of the situation dawned on him. This was her sanctuary, the only place the world that was truly hers... hers and hers alone, and a place that held treasured memories of her mother, and she was willingly sharing it with him... he was struck by just how much trust she was placing in hi. His eyes went wide, and he managed to stutter out, "H-Hina-chan..." but she just smiled at him tenderly and nodded, indicating that she knew what was going through his head.

"You showed me your sanctuary so I'm showing you mine" she whispered, effectively silencing all his outbursts. Realising this, he returned her smile with a genuine, blissful smile that made his eyes sparkle, and Hinata's legs feel like jelly and flopped down on the grass, holding out his hand so that Hinata could do the same, albeit much more gracefully.

And as Naruto lay flopped on the grass, Hinata next to him, watching the downpour gradually turn to a lazy drizzle, and the sunrays peeking through the leaves, even though he was soaked to the bone, he found that the rain didn't hate the rain anymore.

* * *

**-TIME SKIP- 4 Months**

Hinata and Naruto stood- Hinata on the surface of the pond and Naruto on land, to even out her advantage. They both met each other's gaze and with an unspoken signal, the spar had begun. Hinata commanding the water into incredibly sharp knives, strengthened by chakra, instinctively slipping into her Jyuuken stance, charging forward, chakra powered hands at the ready, water knives leaping forward with her.

Naruto too was ready. Wind charged knives ready in his hands; he was already in motion, avoiding her chakra charged hands, and blocked the deadly shimmering knives with his wind enhanced handheld ones. He aimed a roundabout kick at Hinata's feet while aiming a jab at her ribs with his elbow. Predicting this, she did a back flip, sending her knives at him while he was off balance, but he rolled out of the way, brandishing his wind knives, swiping with them at her while Hinata blocked with water streams.

It was like a deadly dance, ducking and jabbing, moving forwards and back, moving with fluidity well beyond their years. Hinata and Naruto both were slightly awkward with their respective weapons, and it showed, but the fluidity and beauty of their spar was undeniable.

Wrapped up in their fight, Naruto and Hinata were both oblivious to a pair of familiar eyes that were watching their every move.

The sharp brown eyes had seen enough and a slouching figure rose from his hiding place in the bushes, thinking 'I have to confront them. How powerful are they really? Why are they training so hard? When I saw them for the first time I thought that they weren't serious about it. But over the past year, they have become really strong, already high genin level' thought Shikamaru, walking towards where Naruto and Hinata were fighting.

'Duck; Jab; Dodge; Punch; Back Flip; Shika; Punch' were Uzumaki Naruto's thoughts as he fought, reciting each move in his head as he performed them. Suddenly he froze; only Hinata's quick reflexes enabling her to stop before her attack hit Naruto. "Naru-kun?" she asked, surprised, and followed Naruto's equally surprised gaze to behind her shoulder, to see a familiar figure standing there, brown eyes staring at them. "Sh-shikamaru..." she whispered, wondering why he was here.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata had gotten over their momentary shock at seeing Shikamaru, and all three were now sitting under, 'the Tree'. Hinata and Naruto looked at Shikamaru curiously, wondering why he was here. Shikamaru sighed and drawled lazily, "This is so troublesome... this clearing is near the Nara estate y'know, so once, before I met you guys at the academy. I was trying to get away from my troublesome mother, and I stumble upon you guys training, but I figured, it was nothing serious..." he said.

"... and you guys have gotten really strong, and I just can't figure out why you guys are training so hard... I think I have some idea, and I just can't stop thinking about what you said about my dream; Naruto... and I just wanna know why." He finished.

Naruto and Hinata looked surprised at what Shikamaru had said, thinking that he would be too lazy to bother with something like this, yet here he was, looking extremely curious to learn the reasons behind their training as hard as they could...

Naruto was especially surprised; he would never have thought that Shikamaru would have actually thought about what he had said. "We kinda haven't had the best of childhoods, and we met under bad circumstances and became friends. We became best friends about two years ago, and we don't really have any true family so..." Naruto trailed off... as Shikamaru stared at Hinata, obviously wondering about the Hyuuga clan.

"We decided that we're going to be each other's family and protect each other, so that neither of us has to suffer needlessly again. We decided to give each other the support that no one else would give us and to become strong, so that we can have each other's back and prove to the world that we are not failures and become true shinobi of Konoha..." Hinata finished, picking up from where Naruto had trailed off.

Shikamaru looked at them thoughtfully, pondering what they had just said. He had one more question that was nagging at him... "What are your skills exactly? I've seen you sparring and I know that Hinata is not fighting with the Jyuuken, and Naruto is fighting with some style I've never seen before."

"I realised that the Jyuuken was too stiff for me so I'm modifying it to be more flexible and adding my water chakra to it, so I fight with modified Jyuuken and water knives" Hinata replied for her own skills.

"I fight with Yōshin-ryū, an out of use Samurai taijutsu. I also use wind knives that Hina-chan here got me for my birthday. I still haven't mastered them and my wind manipulation is still weak though, unlike Hina-chan who has gained control over her water element perfectly, and is combining her modified Jyuuken with it." Naruto said, his voice laced with pride when he talked about Hinata, causing her to blush.

Shikamaru nodded, his curiosity satisfied for now. They chatted for a while longer, and soon, they said their goodbyes and walked off in their own directions.

'Those two are so troublesome... they really are something... training so hard... becoming true shinobi, huh? And they do make a valid point... sigh... I need to train too... I can't be too lazy... curse those two... making me work and making life so troublesome...' Shikamaru thought as he slouched away, toward home, resolving to train harder in typical Shikamaru fashion...

* * *

**A/N: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?**

**Review to find out. :P**


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